A paragraph from *Commonwealth*... in These titles mean nothing.

… by Ann Patchett.

“Franny opened the car door and picked up her father’s feet from the floorboard, swinging them gently out and then taking his arm. “Count of three,” she said, and together they counted while he rocked back and forth to gain momentum. The car that could catch a stolen Ferrari could not help him up, Franny pulled him out and Caroline caught him in the chair the moment he stood. Even a month ago Fix had fought this. A month ago he wouldn’t use the walker, insisting on holding on to Marjorie, even after the falls. But that was behind them now. Now he let Franny put his feet on the paddles. He said thank you.”

There is a lot in the book. It starts with a very long orange juice squeezing sequence, but it moves on and covers a lot of territory.

It has:
- a book inside a book
- a famous writer, who happens to be Jewish and drinks a lot, and has writer’s block until....
- the Palmer House in Chicago
- Buddhism in Switzerland
- guns
- cops
- lawyers
- kids, not treated very well
- divorce
- a dash of Catholicism
- booze and drugs
- bad luck
- less bad luck

Patchett says it was somewhat autobiographical. He father was an LAPD captain. Her parents divorced when she and her sister were quite young and she and her mother and sister moved to Nashville with her mother’s new husband.

I don’t think I’ve read her other books. I will look for them now though.

BTW, the dust jacket has oranges on it.

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Last updated April 23, 2017